A Hartland man who pleaded guilty in August 2021 to 10 counts of aggravated attempted murder was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Thursday.
Richard Murray-Burns, 33, led police on a chase from Waterville to Canaan in December 2019 before shooting at multiple officers. Murray-Burns was sentenced to 225 years — with all but 30 years suspended — and 20 years of probation, the Morning Sentinel reported.
In December 2019, Waterville police officer Timothy Hinton stopped Murray-Burns’ car on Route 201 after a call from the local Walmart alleging that he stole food. After Hinton attempted to approach the car, Murray-Burns fled and led police on a 15-mile chase, the newspaper reported.
During the chase, Hinton was shot in both arms. Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said Thursday that Murray-Burns would pull over to wait for officers to arrive and then ambush them with gunfire, the Morning Sentinel reported.
The shootout ended 20 minutes later in Canaan, with Murray-Burns suffering multiple gunshot wounds.
Hospital tests revealed in court on Thursday indicated Murray-Burns — who said he was on LSD and was struggling with his mental health during the chase — also had fentanyl and benzodiazepines in his system, the newspaper reported.
BDN digital editor Rosemary Lausier contributed to this report.